Building on a decade-long working relationship, the Lyon Defence Staff Headquarters and the CEN Rhône-Alpes submitted a proposal for the "Life Défense Nature 2 Mil" project to the European Union.

This is the first military base biodiversity project to be funded by the European LIFE + (Financial Instrument for the Environment) fund. This fund has been introduced to co-fund environment and nature protection and preservation projects across the European Union. Its actions are primarily aimed at Natura 2000 sites and protecting species and habitats covered by the "Birds" and/or "Habitats" directives.

The project's four experimental sites are all part of the Natura 2000 network, i.e. they have been identified as sites with rare or vulnerable wild animal or plant species and their habitats at European level.